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Some times the best way to improve morale in a company is with a subversive action especially if it just ever so slightly breaks a rule and has been coordinated with the entire staff.

Our family owned company had recently been bought by a large corporation. We were their new shining addition to the family and after a long grueling process of upgrading our systems and intercommunications, we learned the new rules of the road. New training, new reports, new programs, new ways of doing things and new dress code. Morale was very low and our new corporate masters were not seeing it at all and just kept pushing without stopping even for a second so we could catch our breath.

The leaders of the resistance were all young professionals in their late 20’s to early ’30s. Even though we each worked in a different department, (engineering, maintenance, production, quality control, and facilities) we had become pretty tight over the years not only because we were close in age but our eclectic mix of personalities worked so well and our positions naturally had us working together to resolve production issues. We also went to ballgames after work together, Oakland A’s were only a few BART stations away and we shared drinks on Fridays to celebrate our victories and console our loses that week.

Even though the statute of limitations has long expired I still will not reveal the other members of the resistance but admit that I was one of the members. On one particular Friday, while drinking and complaining, it came up that July 1st was around the corner and the beginning of the new fiscal year. What could we do to celebrate the occasion and help break up the funk at work and get morale back to where it needed to be. There was a definite correlation between the number of drinks consumed and the innovation and creativity of ideas put forward by the group. Silliness turned to anger and then anger back again to silliness. The drinks and hours went by until we broke for the night and our weekend.

Monday morning seemingly came around too fast and at our morning break, we again went over our plan to make sure this is the statement we wanted to make. The six of us talking just above whispers and constantly looking over our shoulders so no one else could hear us or most importantly know we were behind what was about to happen. We thought a strategic strike against the new dress code would get a smile out of almost everyone. Previously there was no dress code except the unwritten rule of, when we had visitors at the plant we had to wear slacks and a button shirt and now we had to dress that way every day. They wouldn’t even listen to having a dress down Friday. We swore our allegiance to each other after the break and each put their part of the plan into play.

The fake memo was completed by one member and the copies made late at night by another and I came in extremely early to place memos directly on employees desk. The company leadership such as the President, VP’s and Plant Manager were left off the distribution list. The memo on the usual company letterhead was plain and simple. A picture of a Hawaiian shirt and the following, “To Celebrate the new fiscal year, Friday has been declared as Hawaiian shirt day! Wear your best Hawaiian shirt and be ready to party.”

The rest of the week we monitored all gossip and conversations to make sure this was still a secret, really going to happen and be a pleasant surprise for all. Friday came and we met in the employee lot, donning our Hawaiian shirts and to no surprise, all of us had brought a backup outfit just in case it really went south as we had no idea what kind of participation we would get from the rest of the staff. People sounded excited about the idea but would it carry all week? We huddled, put our hands in and shouted, “GO HAWAII”!

The six of us walked in together to meet our destiny, but were stopped in our tracks by our dropped jaws and were totally blown away! Not only did most of the staff arrive wearing Hawaiian shirts, but the rest had brought them and changed into them here. Some really embraced the spirit of the day and were wearing leis or playing ukeleles and a few had plastic blow-up palm trees and one surfboard. Then there was a sound coming from the lunchroom that we hadn’t heard in a while. Laughter. People were laughing, talking, smiling and enjoying themselves. WE did it!

Then the inquisition came. Our VP of Human Resources was a particularly special stick in the mud. No sense of humor, no jokes, no laughs and extremely pompous. If you had the misfortune of a meeting with him they always took twice as long as with anyone else since he constantly took phone calls during the meeting so you can add rude to the list as well. Our VP of HR began his investigation into Hawaiigate and seek out the culprit or culprits responsible! First, the usual suspects’ were interrogated and then other people were summoned to the office and asked, “Where did this memo come from?” They all answered as we hoped, it was on my desk when I arrived. Each member of the resistance was also called into his office, one at a time and asked if we knew or heard anything? We all responded in kind, as shocked as he was that this could happen but had no clue as to who.

Mr. VP of HR eventually gave up his witch hunt and no one was ever punished for the crime but a flurry of new policies followed along with the consequences for future infractions of HR law. The President of the company actually loved the Hawaiian shirt idea so much, every Friday was now dress-down day and the second Friday of each month was a different themed employee day.

Sometimes the only way to shake a culture up is with a little internal rebellion.

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During a recent vacation, I was unexpectedly presented with a unique opportunity to observe first hand how a company benefits from a solid hiring/recruiting strategy that’s reinforced by a thorough training program and tied together with strong leadership. I have not been paid to write this article for or to endorse Viking River Cruises. This is the second river cruise my wife and I have taken with Viking and have enjoyed them immensely and wanted to give the fantastic crews of the Bragi and the Skadi a shout out! You are all amazing!

The chance came up quickly but not unexpected as we were warned well before the trip that due to the lack of rain during the summer the river water levels in a few spots were low and may not allow for safe passage so there existed a possibility of exchanging ships. Exchanging ships!? Really? Sure enough, halfway through we couldn’t continue but Viking had their plan in place and ready to go. The day we left Budapest up the Danube on Ship A, Ship B was leaving Amsterdam and traveling Southeast. The ships were exactly the same so at the designated point we packed and left Room 233 on Ship A, took a three an a half hour bus ride got on board Ship B to Room 233. Meanwhile like an alternate universe, the folks on Ship B were doing the exact same thing. It was seamless as we gained a new captain, new waiters, new bartenders, new housekeepers, and new crew with only one exception and the one constant in our experiment, we kept the same social director. All said and done I spent one week with Ship A’s team and one week with Ship B’s team and two weeks with Joey.

My first thought was this was going to be more difficult for the service crew on both ships to adjust and handle as they had already established relationships with the various passengers and cliques which had formed over the first 3 nights during a speed dating like process aboard ship, which is considered a sacred ritual on all cruise ships. It’s interesting to watch the groups slowly develop like cultures in a Petrie dish as the open auditions have now ended and the “who they want to spend the rest of the cruise hanging with” is decided and the crew now quickly re-learns all the new preferences and idiosyncrasies. The selection of folks to choose from on this cruise was tantalizing as just about every state was represented including California, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Alaska, Virginia, Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Illinois, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Florida as well as a few Canadians and Australians tossed in for good measure.

Now, before we continue, let’s get this out of the way right now. The rooms were not “identical” as we were lead to believe. We noticed almost immediately one glaring difference between Ship A room #233 (on the right) and Ship B room #233 (on the left). The paintings were not the same! So now we know the truth, the rooms are just very similar.

When you look at the overall operation of both ships, which was equal, you see the benefits of the recruiting and screening process of applicants, (finding the talent) and a great training program (sharpening skills) to ensure consistent uniform perfection in service, actually, it’s more what you don’t see as they all work seamlessly. The level of thoughtfulness, professionalism, attention to detail and passenger safety provided by both ships crews was second to none as every wish one could have, was immediately handled with grace and flair, all accomplished by a diverse workforce of Hungarians, Slovakians, Bulgarians, Romanians, Filipinos, Serbs, Germans, Dutch, Italians, French all working together as one team. No issues of borders or politics, just one focus, one goal in mind, service extraordinaire.

As uniform, as the two ships were in performance, there were also lovely expressions of individuality by the staff in their flair and presentation. The way they greeted you, the way they poured, the way they took orders, the way they joked and the way they smiled and the longer you spend time with them they open up more as who they are. However, there were some glaring differences in individual performances. The breakfast omelet maker on one ship was the best of them all. His technique was absolutely entertaining and fun to watch. As he listened to your request he placed butter in the pan and as it melted he then placed the ingredients you ordered in as well. He knew exactly when to flip and fold it which he did with one quick jerk of the pan and it came out perfect every time. You can tell he really enjoyed what he was doing as he was always upbeat and had an infectious smile which was awesome to begin the day. On the other ship, the breakfast omelet maker was nowhere near as good. He always looked like he was having a bad day and unceremoniously tossed the ingredients into the pan, letting it get too hot and always over browning the bottom of the omelet and he had absolutely no zip in his flip. The experience was such a put off I had cereal.

While in the lounge/bar area on one ship, we never had anyone in our group or overheard anyone complain about their drinks but on the other ship, we not only heard someone at the bar complain about how their old fashion tasted but later one in our group was having the same issue with their old fashion. By all accounts, it seems someone was leaving out an ingredient. I’m sure in both instances through the feedback received from guests, steps were taken in the manner of a refresher training for those individuals. I did mention that the operation and service of both ships were equal but in my opinion, the food overall, especially the dinners were much better on one ship than the other. It was more flavorful, seasoned well and better prepared.

There was some outstanding service as well. A server on one of the ships was very bright and caught on right away that I always had coffee after dinner, every night without skipping a beat. As soon as the dessert orders began rolling out he was ready with coffee in hand and a smile on his face. Then there is the “my phone” story that is a great tale of Going That Extra Mile. I had left my phone on one of the tour buses. In my defense, I was dazed and confused having just woken up after nodding out during the bus ride from a tour of the town. When we arrived back at the ship I totally ditzed and forgot to check the seat pocket. As soon as I stepped back on to the ship I realized I didn’t have it! What must have looked like a crazy man on the lam I ran off the boat but the tour bus had just left. I went to the concierge desk and Joey was there so I explained what had happened. Joey told me he understood and would reach out to the bus company but the ship had to leave on schedule and couldn’t wait for the bus to return. I told him I understood and thanked him on whatever they could do and went back to my room. Having given up on ever seeing my phone again and enjoyed an extra drink to help ease the pain. After the evening presentation for the next day’s tours, we were walking from the bar area to the dining room when the concierge called to me. As I turned around he stopped, smiled and handed me my phone. I wanted to kiss the entire bus company and everybody on board.

But the glue that bound it all together, the training, screening, and service was Joey. He was our social director who had established a rapport with everyone even before we boarded the ship as he introduced himself as we checked in. He was the voice we would come to trust through his nightly presentations that were not to be missed as they were always delivered stand-up comedic style, upbeat and full of energy with a dry sense of humor. After we had a cocktail or two he’d make his entrance into the lounge and quickly review and critique that days highlights followed by the weather report for tomorrow and then the introduction of the chef who’d give us the menu rundown followed up with Joey covering the next day’s cities and tours and other planned activities. Joey became the voice of the ship, he was the voice of Viking as he was the one who had to deliver the bad news that we had to switch ships but did it so it sounded more positive than negative. He was always around making sure everything went like clockwork. He was there as the tour groups formed and boarded buses, boarded bicycles or walked to town. He checked in and up on the guides, always interested in feedback. In addition to our entertainment, he was just as responsible for the safety of all the guests on their land tours as the captain is aboard ship. What I admired most was no matter how many fires he was putting out, finding passengers lost in the local town, listening to unhappy guests, answering questions about local stores, reuniting lost belongings including phones to guests you never saw it in his face, you never heard it in his voice, there was always a smile and he always had time to listen. The last day aboard ship as we were waiting for our transportation, I got to watch Joey in action as he was in constant motion, saying goodbye to his leaving flock while simultaneously welcoming new busloads of guests to their journey. Still full of positive energy.

My high school football coach used to tell us to give 110 percent or you weren’t committed. I used to think that was a ridiculous statement since you can’t really give more than 100% but if anyone could give 110% that would be Viking river cruises. What I have learned from this experience is more a confirmation of what I have always believed that when talent gets the proper consistent training and nurturing leadership you can accomplish any goal.

Welcome back and thank you for your time and consideration. Hope your 4th of July was relaxing, entertaining and invigorating.

The emotion of Fear and ignorance (a lack of knowledge) have been around since the dawning of humankind and when put together they are not a very good couple to have around. Also for as long, people of great wealth and power have manipulated communities spreading lies to feed fear and scare people while simultaneously playing on their ignorance to generate hatred. Motivating individuals to acts of violence against neighbors homes, businesses and up to killing if needed. The only sole beneficiary, the man of power who started it. When fire was first discovered I’m sure many were in fear of it. It generated heat, it danced, it hurt like hell to touch but was unpredictability due to a lack of understanding. The first person who learned to control fire no longer feared it as they knew how to use it safely and then could turn it into power as they used that fear of fire to their advantage spreading lies of its origin and why they could control it and by that alone is why they should be put in charge. The match of fear and ignorance was a hit and the trend continued.

With all the problems these two have generated throughout our history of the world imagine the effect they have on workplace safety! Companies and poor leaders keeping workers ignorant about their rights to a safe workplace. No training, no PPE, no safety meetings and if they question why they don’t have any of those items then Fear is used to intimidate them into silence and looking the other way or threatened with loss of their job so they become complicit, slowly eroding your morals or bullied into leaving the company for not going along with the program of tampered emergency shut-offs and no LOTO program so now the fear and ignorance boils over into hatred of the company and what they did to me and winds up in a mass shooting at the plant while the bobbleheads stare into the camera and shake their heads in disbelief. How could this happen?

The fear also includes that of OSHA. At one company, as soon as I started I was barraged with safety issues by the employees. “We have told the company about these issues for years and nothing gets done!” I asked since the company has ignored them all this time why haven’t they called OSHA? “Oh no man, we don’t want the plant closed down. We’ll all be out of work.” The fear of job losses, even though the plant wouldn’t have been closed but there should have been a lot of eyes going over every aspect of the plant.

Before you begin a job, learn about it first. What are the associated hazards, what kind of equipment is typically used, what kind of PPE and protection do I need and what kind of company am I working for? It is always a good idea to get several points of view and not just from your boss or company but research on the web. Read blogs like this and there are several out there, so look for your voice in a few of them. Once you get a job, don’t stop learning. New procedures, new techniques, new apps are coming every day and you can help your company as well as you yourself grow by reading and learning. This is also a tool you can put into use of everyday life. Don’t just take your neighbor’s advice, listen to it but see what other opinions are out there. There is always a solution to problems when people discuss without fear or ignorance pushing them. Don’t let fear and ignorance run or ruin your life. Don’t let hatred win. Stay informed.

Sometimes the company can actually be ignorant themselves of safety rules and regulations. It happens but when the company is the General Services Department of the State of California, Feces, blood, syringes at California Capitol: Workers unprepared for clean up, OSHA says, ignorance is not the problem, incompetent leadership is. I can’t believe the workers didn’t bring it up to management what they were found on the capitol grounds and how the hell can a state agency be that deaf, dumb and blind? Why it’s poor leadership and I’m fairly certain they’ll keep making the same mistakes down the road, incompetence in the state is rarely punished but usually leads to a promotion or running for state office, so workers, here’s a case where you need to know what your rights are and speak up. You do not have to operate under those conditions and CalOSHA agreed and fined a fellow agency for 9 violations.

Nursing Education Consulting Inc.

Now I like gadgets just as much as the next guy/gal but I don’t think they should fully substitute the use of common sense or your brain. 8 Products to Help you Beat the Heat.When you’re working in excessive heat it can be dangerous. I know, I had crews unloading containers from overseas while the outside temperatures were 110 degrees and the temperature inside the container was at least 10 degrees higher. We always set up the water cooler right next to the container being unloaded and fans blowing and frequent breaks. Some guys would just push themselves to the limit and never say a word about feeling ill, cause that how guys are sometimes, it’s a form of ignorance. So it is very important to know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Both if not treated properly and immediately can result in death. Learn how to identify and how to treat. This is the knowledge that can come in handy anywhere.

Some may say that you shouldn’t fear to work alone and that may be true in some cases but when the company tells you to work alone in the plant on an off-shift, just say NO. Worker Found Dead In Stadium Cooler Was Minnesota Inventor.You can never plan for an accident so why would you work alone. If something was to fall on you or you became pinned or knocked unconscious, and no one was there to help or call for help, you’ll become the morning news when they find your body. We always had a policy of two when work had to be done at night or weekends and others weren’t going to be around. It just makes sense.

Well, that’s it for this month folks. Be kind to each other and never, never keep quiet about safety for the life you save may be your own. If you have questions about safety and regulation please don’t hesitate to ask.

To say immigration has been a hot topic button of late in the United States would be an understatement. It’s an extremely complex issue involving legal immigration, illegal immigration, DACA, families, persecution, better way of life, lines, separations and walls. Whether you approve or disapprove of how the current administration and legislators are handling this hot potato, when all is said and done, it is immigrants that have had a large impact on our businesses and nation.

It also seems during our history as a country we haven’t always been kind to newly arrived immigrants. Just ask the Chinese, Italian and Irish immigrants who arrived. They threaten our jobs, they can’t speak english, they look funny, they breed like rabbits. See, nothing new. My grandparents came to this country in the early 1900’s to escape religious persecution. People feared them due to hatred and ignorance spread by jealous and hateful people who got others to burn their businesses, their homes and in some cases beat them to death. Even though my grandfather was a decorated calvary soldier for the Tzar he was still treated like crap. After much discussion with the whole family they along with some, left for the U.S. while others decided to stay put. My grandparents arrived here and found people who again hated them but for just being here and not speaking enough english. They survived, had four sons, who all proudly served in the military during World War II. My dad is the sailor on the left.

Diversity allows an exchange of ideas that are filtered through different points of view, different cultures, different educational backgrounds that can lead to a consensus and solutions like creating cures to disease, making a better process to produce steel and overall improve our way of life. Immigrants have also had a positive influence helping this country become the power house and defender of the free world it had become which can earn you a fast track to citizenship especially if you possess a skill set we desperately need.

A case in point is Dr. Wernher Magnus Maximillian Freiherr von Braun who was such an immigrant. Born and raised in the small town of Wirsitz, in the Posen Province, in what was then the German Empire (now Poland) he grew up to become the main driving force behind developing and oversaw the building of the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany. At the time, 1944, it was Germany’s Weapon of Mass Destruction and were built using slave labor consisting of concentration camp prisoners and other enemies of the state. It may have been intended just for military targets but was also used on civilian targets, mainly the city of London, full of defenseless women and children. Wernher, also a Nazi party member did a fabulous job for his fuhrer by not only killing over 7,000 people with this weapon but generated fear and panic amongst the public to help get a victory for Germany.

After VE and VJ days the United States was fast approaching the cold war and we still had only one way to deliver a nuclear warhead, dropping it from flying fortress bombers like the Enola Gay so ideas were desperately needed to give us the edge. Lo and behold along came Werner with his knowledge of rockets and with his posse of German rocket scientist. So rather then prosecute them all for war crimes, they made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Work for us building rockets and we’ll spare you going to Nuremberg and trials for war crimes. Wernher was allowed to work with our military while it wasn’t announced publicly for about 6 months over fears of back lash. Soon after that he was transitioned to the director of NASA and began our space program in ernest while put on the fast track to citizenship.

The ultimate payoff came in the summer of 1969 just about a month before young people began gathering at Yasgur’s farm, Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Would we have made it without Wernher’s help? Eventually but it would have been even a longer struggle and what if the Russians had gotten to him first?

Before you judge and treat that person with the accent like an idiot or terrorist, or speak louder since your raised voice will help them understand english better, remember they are also human beings who are not better, not worse, just different and you don’t know what next innovation, invention or cure will come from their mind.

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Welcome back and thank you for joining us in another episode of Companies Behaving Badly. Hope all is going well.

I hate to always reference my old childhood days and how things were growing up back then but it is my baseline and even though comparing anything to today’s world is not really fair as it’s more apples/oranges kind of thing, seriously, who thought there would come a time when ethics, morals, accountability, and responsibility would fade out of style? Who knew that the more debilitating problem for companies today is not the ever-widening “skills gap” but is actually the “leadership hole”!

We are in desperate need of leadership as a large vacant hole has developed. Leaders that listen to every voice and understand their needs in developing consensus with all groups and that it is more important than just winning at all cost for your side. Unfortunately, there is no short supply of examples out there of the existence of the leadership hole and by all accounts, it’s only getting wider, deeper and we’re all sinking into it. Leaders who believed that they should be in charge worked hard to get good returns on investment, enough to keep the people happy and enough happy people to drown out the little voices, like wisps of smoke that would rise time to time of abuse and corruption which were really driving the ROI as ethical and moral behavior became profit stoppers. As long as things were good, a deaf ear was more than the latest corporate fashion.Luckily the same time as the voices got louder, these honorable men running corporations avoiding responsibility and accountability, believing ethics and morals are weaknesses rather than strengths finally had it all explode in their faces.

A gas pipeline blew up murdering 8, a bank caught creating fraudulent accounts, a social media company sold us all out. They accepted reality television accountability as PGE, Wells Fargo Bank, Uber and FaceBook to mention a few now spend millions of dollars on ad campaigns telling us how sorry they are that they lied and let the green glow of cash and power blind them rendering their moral compass useless and the reason why they didn’t think twice about ripping us off. “We’re sorry” “We went astray” “Lost the path” “We’ll do better”. All things men caught cheating on their wives say. By all accounts, not one of them has gone to jail and the ones who did lose their jobs, don’t waste your time feeling sorry for them, they landed on their feet with the ability to go astray again at any time. Cause “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” and they love us, or our greenbacks actually.

Those corporations were only the tip of the iceberg. Now the leaders of the largest colleges and universities who are entrusted with the task of teaching, training and preparing our future leaders have let us all down, giving the lesson that listening is not important especially if it’s something you don’t want to hear about the “good ole boys.” First hand demonstrating to future leaders how to ignore the voices of young women who only want an education and career but had to work twice as hard to get there due to the constant body shaming, abuse, and rape! Michigan State and U.S.C. , great schools now saying how sorry they are. Even the city of Berkeley, California where many a mind has been enlightened over the years has sent the message to women of you are not important enough to listen too, as rape kits sat on shelves only collecting dust instead of collecting evidence.

Look I get it. When you accept responsibility it takes work, lots of work. Following up on work-related issues, reviewing your process, talking to employees and listening, finding and filling the cracks in the process, budgets, competition, employee retention, and your bonus. When you’re responsible you also need to be proactive as well, guessing what the future will bring and how to deal with it. That’s also hard work. That’s why so many of our leaders just keep the status quo, you don’t have to work as hard and listen to or care about all those whiny people and still collect all your bonuses even if they don’t make the goal. Life is wonderful when you can shed all your morals and ethics for a few dollars more.

Will there be a new we’re sorry ad campaign in the future for–Bumble Bee CEO Indicted On Charge He Fixed Canned Tuna Price.Smart and lazy CEO decided hey, we don’t need to compete against each other and fight for a market share when we can all just share the wealth by pricing our product exactly the same. We all win! When you shed your morals it is so easy to do and if you think they’re the only ones doing this…..

Then there is ethics I can never understand and seems both ironic and hypocritical to me at the same time. Human life is a human life, right? If I believe that human life needs to protected at all costs wouldn’t you want to protect them just as much from dying on the job as from the hands of terrorists? —Despite wave of fatal building accidents in Israel, safety is rarely enforced. Over 100 have died on the job since 2016 but they are still not taking workplace safety seriously letting many of these corrupt construction companies to operate freely and keep killing workers. If the PLO had taken 100 Israeli lives there would be an uproar for blood, revenge, and retaliation but I guess when you kill your own building, that’s o.k. It seems to me if you protect human live all lives should matter equally.

We all rely on and love our local Firefighters. They do so many wonderful things like put out large and small fires, work in burning buildings to save people, rescue small animals from trees or sewers and make a fabulous calendar but one thing they are not is expendable. State fines Camas $4800 over firefighter safety violations. The city of Camas should be ashamed to put two firefighters in danger the way they did. The job is difficult enough as it is and the key to firefighting is working as a team to make sure everyone is safe while accomplishing their assignments during a fire. As I have said in previous blogs, my city of Vallejo, a population of 121,000 has only 21 firefighters on each shift and we still have to ask for mutual assistance several times a week between freeway accidents, house fires, chemical spills, and other emergency calls.

Why be complicit in your own death? Wichita roofing contractor cited by OSHA.What kind of moron sends employees out on a roof without fall protection? Well, Jose Barrientos for one, who was cited by OSHA for exposing employees to falls and other safety hazards and now faces proposed penalties of up to $191,071. To make it worse 2 of the violations were WILLFUL which means he knew it was wrong and dangerous to not provide fall protection and that someone could be killed but he DIDN’T CARE which is obvious since he’s been cited 5 times in the last 10 years. Time to shut him down! This is why falls continue to be the OSHA number 1 violation and killer. Don’t put your life at risk and if you are bullied or threatened to be fired for doing an unsafe act call the OSHA hotline 1 – 800 – 321 – 6742

Every job, heck everything you do has its own set of inheriting dangers and how we mitigate those dangers and awareness of those dangers helps keep us safe but you still never know. These gentlemen were doing their job, covering a story to keep others safe. Thoughts go out to the families of TV News Anchor, Photographer Die When Tree Crushes Their Vehicle.This is why you hug, smile and say I love you every day to loved ones, for you don’t know how long that enjoyment will last.

Until next month my friends, (yes, there will be no issue on June 21, summer hours folks) stay safe and never keep quiet about safety, for the life you save may be your own.

As we’ve learned from previous posts, we know that companies spend lots of effort and money each year to keep their facilities clean and in tip-top shape to provide you products of the highest level of quality. Besides training, education, and scheduling these companies to have one more way to make sure they are doing things right.

There are businesses that, very much like a mother-in-law will come to your facility and tell you everything you are doing wrong in keeping house. Actually to conduct business with some major companies like Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods or Target your facility has to have a rating of 95 or better and for some only a 98 or better will do. The ratings are based on the results of findings from the audit by a third party company like AIB International (American Institute of Baking) or ASI Food Safety. Trust me, for the companies I worked where the score was important for business, the audit process is stressful and the worry endless until you get that report and rating.

These auditors have a long list of things they look at which are the same for every facility they inspect so the scores are comparable. The condition of the facility, cleanliness of the facility, sanitation schedule, pest control program, condition of storage containers, receiving procedures, cooler log, freezer log, the condition of the employee restrooms, the condition of the break/lunchroom, standard operating procedures and training. It’s a thorough inspection and really keeps you on your toes but the secret to passing this inspection and getting the needed rating score is to run your facility this way year round. Don’t get lax but keep consistent especially since once you begin justifying putting of cleaning and repairs it’ll become all too convenient to keep making excuses until it’s too late. With that said, I worked at one company that waited until they got their notice of pending inspection, which you request in the first place and then they’d proceed to freak out getting all the records together on pest control and training and couldn’t even tell you the countless hours of overtime for cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Yes, it’s true, not all companies are operated the same.

Then there are a few larger corporations that have their own internal audit teams that would travel around the country and show up unannounced. Several months after we were bought by an even bigger fish, I can still remember the look on the plant managers face when one of those teams showed up unexpectedly to evaluate our operation as well as to deem who was worth keeping.

In your own home, you don’t need a team of auditors checking every nook and cranny before assigning you a score but I’m sure we all know a family member or friend who would be more than happy to do that for us. However, it has been my experience if you keep up a consistent cleaning routine, do repairs within a reasonable time period and have good food storage habits your home will be safe even for your mother-in-law.

Welcome back, folks. Hope all is going well and that those April showers brought lots of beautiful May flowers and please take a moment to stop, smell and enjoy them.

I grew up on the streets of the Bronx, a few blocks from Yankee Stadium during a much simpler time. Mickey Mantle was my hero, Davy Crockett was my fashion maven and Miss Joan on Romper Room was telling me to be a good do-bee. Television was only black and white but we had 7 stations to choose from and all actually signed off the air late at night. That was fine as we spent a lot of time outside playing stoop ball, stickball, red rover, and hula hoop while inside was entertained with colorforms, silly putty, and slinky. We never heard of an active shooter as the only drills we had were either fire or duck and cover from the A-bomb. We always said please and thank you, respectful of our elders and taught the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Treat others as you want to be treated. So simple, so easy. But somewhere the message has gone awry and fallen on deaf corporate ears.

The first time I saw one was soon after PG&E murdered eight innocent human beings in San Bruno, California whose only crimes was going about their lives. Now, in the last week, I’ve seen several companies advertising on the air, not pushing a new product or must have service but to apologize. Yes! I’m sure you’ve seen them as well as Uber, Wells Fargo and Facebook are all currently apologizing for their bad behavior which was screwing over the very customers that support and make them $$$$$. The apologies are all the same, well produced with lots of words and promises while in the background pictures of people working hard. “We’re sorry, we got blinded by all the cash coming in and that’s why we didn’t hear you or actually think we had to listen but now that we were caught we are sorry and promise you that things will change. Really! Cross our heart” PG&E’s ad campaign has morphed over the years from, sorry we killed but we’re rehabilitated to look our workers are people just like you!

I understand it’s no longer the simple world I grew up in as a child due to all the advances and discoveries in technology and medicine, (although the flying cars I was promised in 5th grade have yet to materialize, listening Elon?) but when did ethics, morals, decency and integrity become passe? Is there no place for them in this brave new world? Can companies only compete and make profits without caring for life an limb or being unethical? I know they were beliefs from the past but how can you have a culture continue without ethics, morals or integrity? In France, they think it’s pretty important. When you are sworn in before giving testimony in court, you don’t swear to tell the truth so help you God but swear to tell the truth on your honor.

However, Companies are not just expected to demonstrate ethics, morals or integrity but accountability as well as is the case in California. Two Charged In Death Of Forklift Operator.The owner and a manager of Good View Roofing and Building Supply have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and labor code violations by the San Francisco district attorney’s office in relation to the death of an employee pinned under a forklift. If you know you are putting employees in danger, it has come to the point where you could wind up spending some serious time in jail. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.

Unfortunately, companies that lack ethics or integrity are located throughout the world. In England, a company thought it would speed things up if they disabled a safety feature on the compactor. Firm ordered to pay almost £300k after worker’s legs crushed. Oh, and they didn’t let the workers know that. How special. If you ever see anyone, that is anyone, boss, owner, fellow worker disable any safety feature on a piece of equipment you yell out loud for the whole world to hear, this is not acceptable. Then call OSHA’s hotline at 1 – 800 – 321 – 6742. Don’t become a statistic.

Two dead after falling 70 feet in elevator lift collapse in Naples. Another tragic headline that could have been avoided. I don’t understand why they weren’t tied off to prevent them from falling? Isn’t that the whole idea in safety and PPE, to prepare for the unexpected and prevent it from killing us? A company that cared would have insisted on it but we shake our heads, think how awful this is for them and their families and then we’re back to our lives. We’re becoming too complacent of others dying.

I understand we’re all busy. Busy busy busy. So busy that we must conduct business anywhere and everywhere including our cars. Now I don’t have anything so important going that I need to take a call while driving. I don’t need to look at a text message as soon as it hits. But, apparently, there are those out there who just can’t wait. What used to be the talent of common sense for most people has been lost to the point laws are having to be passed. Maryland Gov. Hogan signs Slow Down to Get Around law. Now laws are only as good as their enforcement but come on people. Give all service vehicles, fire, police, ambulance, trash space. They stop suddenly and usually have someone working around the vehicle. Better yet, while driving, enjoy the view of the world through your windshield and mirrors with your undivided attention and maybe we can all have a day where there won’t be headlines about the death of a worker.

Don’t be part of the problem. Just because someone else is not honorable or unethical don’t lower yourself to their level. Be above it a treat everyone mindfully and as always, never keep quiet about safety, for the life you save may be your own.